The bitter disappointment might have happened more than seven years ago, but it's etched in Singapore midfielder Hariss Harun's memory.

"We needed just a point away at Jordan in our last qualifier (in March 2010) to make it through to the 2011 Asian Cup, but we lost 2-1 and narrowly missed out," said the 26-year-old, who will skipper the Lions against Taiwan in their Group E qualifier at Jalan Besar Stadium tonight.

"In a tough group that also included Iran, we had beaten Jordan and Thailand earlier to put ourselves in a good position, so it was really tough to swallow, and I don't want that to happen again."

After an encouraging 0-0 draw with Bahrain in their opening qualifier in March, world No. 157 Singapore can take a big step towards booking their place in their first Asian Cup Finals since 1984 (the Republic were hosts that year) if they beat 160th-ranked Taiwan - the group's lowest-ranked team.

The other two teams in the group are Bahrain (133rd) and Turkmenistan (143rd).

Hariss said: "No disrespect to Taiwan but, if we want to make it through, these are the games we must win.